What’s the story?
Premier League’s best players in FIFA 17 were both from Manchester United. Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and goalkeeper David de Gea shared the honours with a rating of 91 each but this might be about to change with the impending release of FIFA 18.
Chelsea's Eden Hazard has been imperious in Antonio Conte's refashioned Chelsea side, steering them to the Premier League title this season and he is expected to overtake the two Manchester United men to be crowned the best player in the Premier League.
Sources close to EA Sports told Sportskeeda about the likely development, after fellow Chelsea midfielder Michy Batshuayi requested for an increase in his rating via Twitter. There is yet to be any official confirmation on this.
In case you didn’t know...
Manchester United shot-stopper David de Gea has been one of the Premier League’s standout performers for the past few years. After a stellar 2015-16, where he was the Manchester club’s sole shining light in a season characterised by poor football, EA Sports FIFA 17 gave him a ranking of 90, making him the best player in the Premier League.
This season, however, De Gea’s abilities have not been called into action as frequently as the preceding years with a stronger defence in front of him. As a result, Eden Hazard’s superlative performances for Chelsea have been pushed into the limelight with the Belgian being the difference between Chelsea and the chasing pack this season.
The heart of the matter
This Premier League season, the Belgian winger has lived up to the hype of being one of the world’s most talented players, scoring 15 goals and providing 5 assists on the way to winning the League with Chelsea.
Apart from the numbers, Hazard’s dribbling and incisive running have helped pile the pressure on opponents, eventually making them crumble. Hazard, this season has at least replicated if not bettered his 2015 Premier League winning form for the Blues.
All of the winger’s best attributes have been exhibited in a free role for Chelsea this season. FIFA 18 is likely to give him a rating boost to at least a 91 or 92 along with a massive attribute boost for his domination this season. Expect his dribbling, passing and physical attributes to go up while finishing and vision are also expected to rise in stature.
What’s next?
It seems inevitable that Eden Hazard’s ratings will be higher in FIFA 18 than they were on FIFA 17. The real question is whether the Belgian will remain at Chelsea next season as his displays must have surely attracted the attention of Europe’s biggest clubs. If he does move, the title for the best player in the Premier League is likely to stay with David de Gea then.
Author’s Take
The battle for the best player in the Premier League has been between David de Gea and Eden Hazard for the past three seasons and it is likely to continue in the upcoming seasons unless both of them move to bigger and better clubs.
In which case, the best player is likely to be Thibaut Courtois, with a below 90 rating which would be an indication of the lack of truly elite players in the Premier League. Courtois would then be only the 8th best player in the game behind seven 90-plus rated players, all of whom play in the La Liga
